


Who are you?

by c_morrigan



Category: Nevermoor Series - Jessica Townsend
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-04
Updated: 2021-02-04
Packaged: 2021-03-16 05:27:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,579
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29202075
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/c_morrigan/pseuds/c_morrigan
Comments: 1
Kudos: 8





	1. Chapter 1

Hawthorne cried out as the rush of water came thundering towards them. In that moment, he realised he was going to die. Everybody was going to die. This attack would destroy Nevermoor. He thought of his family, of his patron, of his boyfriend, and Hawthorne discovered he wasn’t ready to die. There was far too much living left for him to do.

Jupiter turned to Squall, desperation written all over his face. "There has to be something you can do," he begged. "We can't let it reach Nevermoor." He didn’t say it, but Hawthorne knew they were all thinking it. If the wave reached Nevermoor, nobody would survive.

Squall shook his head, pointing at the band around his wrist. "She's blocking me. I can't overpower it." He lashed out, punching the rock next to him, and Hawthorne jumped as the rock crumbled.

"Morrigan?" Cadence asked carefully. "What are you doing?"

Hawthorne spun around. Morrigan had stepped in front of the others, facing the oncoming wave.

"Mog," Jupiter warned. "Stay back. You'll get hurt."

"No," Morrigan grunted. "I can stop it."

"Morrigan, no," Hawthorne reasoned. "You don’t know what to do."

"She does," Squall concurred. "She's a Wundersmith. It's a part of who she is."

"No," Jupiter snapped. "There's got to be another way."

"I'm sure there is, Captain," Squall said. "But we only have moments. Miss Crow, you know the Wundrous Arts. All save for the final, most powerful of the Arts; the Art of Partisan. Protection. Protection for that which you care about."

"Can I learn it in time?" Morrigan asked anxiously. The wave was almost upon them. Hawthorne didn’t see how that could be possible.

"You don’t need to learn anything. You care for Nevermoor, so you want to protect it. Remember what I taught you. Wunder wants to help you. It wants to grant your wishes."

Morrigan nodded. She planted her feet firmly in the sand, her back to the group. She raised her arms, and if not for the rush of the water, Hawthorne knew he would've heard the sound of her song, the spinning of Wunder between her fingertips and the power surging through the air.

The wave kept coming, and Hawthorne's limbs began to quiver, and he felt a tremor going through his body as he tried to ignore his growing need to run, to race far away from the hill, as though he could somehow outrun the great speed of the water.

Morrigan pushed her hands into the air, and Hawthorne gasped as a glistening barrier raise before him, speeding across the hills, covering the whole city of Nevermoor. Hawthorne flinched when the wave crashed into the shield, sending Morrigan staggering, but she gritted her teeth and pushed back.

Hawthorne stared in awe at his best friend as she alone protected the thousands of people within the city, those people who knew nothing of the danger they were in. Morrigan was a hero, the kind they would sing songs about in years to come, the kind who would one day be a legend, the kind that would never, ever be forgotten, not as long as there were people to tell stories.

The onslaught lasted only a couple of seconds, and just as well, because Morrigan's strength had limits. As the last of the water pounded over Morrigan's defence, she collapsed to the ground, the shield disappeared.

Hawthorne shrieked, racing to Morrigan's side, and Jupiter and Cadence were beside him as well. Jupiter pushed him aside, feeling for a pulse, while Cadence checked her breathing. They exchanged looks, Jupiter nodding grimly at Cadence.

Squall cursed. "We can't afford this," he muttered.

"What are you talking about?" Cadence demanded. "What happened to her? Did you know about this?"

"She put too much of herself into it," Squall replied. "It- it can have negative side effects."

Negative side effects?

"Mog, Mog, please look at me." Jupiter was shaking Morrigan, trying to get a reaction from her.

Morrigan groaned and opened her eyes. She took in Jupiter, and Cadence, and Hawthorne, all staring down on her and a look of alarm took her over.

"Who are you?" she asked, fear and confusion clouding her features.


	2. Chapter 2

Jupiter stared down at Morrigan in shock. He wasn't sure what he had been expecting when Squall had said negative side effects, but this sure wasn’t it.

"Morrigan?" he asked carefully. "Are you alright?"

Morrigan nodded, looking around wildly. "Where am I? What happened? Who are you?"

Jupiter hesitated. "My name is Jupiter North. You- you're in-"

"You're in Barclaytown, Miss Crow. A treat, your grandmother organised." Squall interrupted. "We've been showing you around."

Morrigan frowned at him. "Do I know you?"

Squall faltered at this. "I… uh… I don’t believe so," he replied hesitantly.

Morrigan continued to stare at him, before her confusion cleared. "Oh, I know. I've heard you on the wireless."

Squall nodded uncertainly. "Of- of course. I- I was-"

"Mr Jones here," Cadence rushed. "Is an old friend of your grandmother's. She asked him to… to meet you when you arrived here. But you- you seem to have fainted. We should probably bring you back to the hotel, feed you up, get some warmth into your bones, you look frozen there. Mr Jones has some business to attend to," she added harshly, giving Squall a meaningful gaze. "So he has to go. But no worries! We'll be able to look after you."

Morrigan nodded slowly. "Alright then." Jupiter could see the suspicion and distrust clouding her, and he felt his heart fail a little when she turned that gaze on him.

Hawthorne and Cadence led Morrigan away, and Jupiter turned to Squall with a cold anger.

"Did you know? Did you know this would happen?" he demanded. "Why didn’t you say anything?"

"I didn’t think it was a risk!" Squall snapped. "I've never even seen it happen. Half-thought it was a myth, if I'm being honest."

"Well clearly it isn't!" Jupiter snapped back. "Just tell me what happened, and how to fix it."

Squall shook his head. "I don’t know, Captain. Like I said, I've never seen this happen. I don’t know how to fix it."

"Well at least tell me what it bloody well is!" Jupiter exploded.

Jupiter watched Squall's colours, preparing himself for a sign that the Wundersmith might try attacking him. Normally, Jupiter would normally never risk enraging Squall like this, but he couldn’t control himself.

"Calm yourself, Captain. This is quite basically amnesia."

"You thought amnesia was a myth?"

"No! It's not amnesia in the traditional sense. It's causes are… drastically different."

"Does 'it' have a name?"

"They called it Wundrous Oblivion."

"How about we keep saying 'it'?"

Squall sneered. "Of course. Whatever you need."

"Damn it, Squall, just tell me. This isn't a game! Morrigan Crow is a real person, and I need you to tell me what has happened to her."

Squall's expression sobered, and Jupiter found himself wondering, yet again, what Squall thought of Morrigan. Did he think of her as an equal? Did he care if he hurt her? "Miss Crow used too much Wunder. She put everything she had into the protection, and Wunder took everything."

"What do you mean by everything?"

"I mean," Squall explained. "That it took every last residual piece of Wunder from her. There is Wunder in everything. And since the age of nine, Miss Crow has been soaking up Wunder like a sponge, for want of a better metaphor. She may not have realised it, but Wunder became entwined with everything she did. And it… it became a part of her. More importantly, a part of her memories."

"So.. Morrigan used all the Wunder she had. Including Wunder that, what, she remembered?"

"Essentially, yes. Only Morrigan didn’t do anything. It was Wunder. Wunder has a life of its own. It sensed that Morrigan wanted to protect Nevermoor, it sensed that she would give anything, that she would give everything, to protect Nevermoor, so it took everything. Everything that had to do with Wunder. Particularly, memories of being a Wundersmith, and of being within the Wundrous city that is Nevermoor."

Jupiter felt goosebumps prickle on his arms. "Is there a way to undo this?" he asked carefully.

Squall shrugged. "I don’t know. As I said, the result is much like amnesia. Amnesia is an unpredictable thing."

Jupiter stabbed a finger at Squall. "This is your fault. I bet you're real happy now. She doesn’t have any reason to distrust you now, does she? All the easier for her to become your apprentice, I suppose? Perhaps you didn’t intend for this to happen, but I bet you aren't upset."

"Careful, Captain. Don’t just throw around accusations. For once in your life, think. I need Miss Crow. And I need her to be a Wundersmith. Which she was becoming, albeit at a ridiculously slow pace. Now I'm set back four years! I can't afford this, Captain."

"She's a person," Jupiter spat. "Not a weapon, or, or a pawn in your game. A person."

"I am quite aware. I will return in a week. If you have not found a solution to this… situation, then I'm afraid I will have to take matters into my own hands." Squall turned to leave, but stopped to make one final comment before disappearing into thin air. "And by the way, Captain, I don’t need Miss Crow to forget me to become my apprentice. She made that deal many months ago."


End file.
